Air cooler and dehumidifier.



G. OBRlEN.

MR COOLER AND DEHUMIDIFIER.

APPLICATION FILED APR-28. 1913.-

1 ,1 89,470. Patented July 4, 1916.

H 325:3 Giliozvuz UNITED sTArEs PATENT OFFICE.

GLEN OIBRIEN, or MANHATTAN, KANsAs, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF CARR, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AIR COOLER AND DIFHUMIDIFIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed Apli128, 1918. Serial Ito/764,206.-

I '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GLEN OBRmN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Manhattan, in the county of Riley and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air Coolers and Dehumidifiers, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to certain improvements in methods of and devices for effecting changes in temperature of the air and more particularly the air of living rooms, ofiices, hospital wards, laboratories, factories, or the like. i

The main object of my invention is to'provide a simple, easily portable device, inexpensive to manufacture and vwhich does not require the services of a skilled operator to set up and use the same.

My improved device in-its preferred form presents such area of refrigerated or heat-v abso'rbing surface, that a cooling medium may be advantageously employed even though its temperature is not very much below the temperature to which it is desired to cool the air. I design the apparatus so as to. cool large volumes of air down'to the desired temperature instead of cooling smaller volumes of air to a much lower temperature and permitting them to' mix with and. cool the air of the room. J

In its simplest and preferable form the apparatus is adapted to utilize a cooling me- I dium considerably above the freezing point,

as for instance ordinary hydrant water of a municipal water works system, or water from an artesian well or water pumped from an ordinary well. By providing a large heat absorbing surface and causing thecool- 0 ing medium to flow through a passage of greatlength but of compact form, I am able to utilize substantially all of'the available heat absorbing properties of the liquid and deliver the same from the apparatus ata temperature above that atwhich it entered and nearly up to the desired room tempera-' ture. This room temperature is furthermore automatically maintained comfortable and substantially constant or uniform as it can not be cooled below or even down to the temperature of the cooling medium.

On a warm summer day it often happens that the humidity of the air is far more distressing than the actual high temperature. My improved device by lowering the temr0 ELnNor, nAn

Patented July 4, 19123.

perature of the air even. a few degrees will.

serve to. precipitate out or cause'the condensation of a large quantity of the 'moisture and thus render the air less distressing. The moisture accumulating on the cooling surface and dripping therefrom-into the pan will also serve to collect dust and germs floating in the air so that the cooling is not only accompanied by a dehumidizing action but also by an air purifying action.

My invention may assume various differout forms to adapt it for different purposes or to permit it to be effectively used in dif- I ferent situations. The device is preferably constructed in a simple portable form and provided with detachable pipe'connections, although if desired it may be permanently installed as a part of the ventilating and cooling system of the building. I

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which "similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which- Figure 1 isa side elevation, portions being broken away, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2.2 of Fig. l.

In the specific form illustrated I employ- As illustrated the pipe begins at the inlet coupling 14 and is formed into first the inner coil 10, then the next outer ,coil' and so on to the outlet 15. The connections be-v tween the coils are at opposite ends'as will be apparent. The coils are preferably arranged with their axes horizontal and are spaced apart so as to form a plurality of annular air passages concentric with a central air passage, thecoils being supported in any suitable manner. As illustrated I have shown two standards or brackets 17, 17 at opposite ends and connected together by coil supporting rods 18. The standards or bracktrance and exit from-the annular air passages. The two standards may be mounted .ets are preferably of such form as to ob- .struct, to the least possible degree, the en- 45 same pipi'n I The device is designed to beplaced in theroom which it is desiredto cool and the air of the room is forced through the air passagesto effect an interchange of temperature between the air and the medium with in the pipe. The air forcing means is preferably an ordinary electric fan 20, the base or standard of which may rest upon the base erably of sheet metal/and preferably removable from the base 21'to permit thewashing of accumulated dust and dirt from the coils. This casing preferably extends beyond the coils at one end so as to inclose the fan and may have a door 24 which may be closed beyond the fan to partially conceal the fan,

one from coming in contact with the fan or articles being drawn into the pipe by the '25 fan. This door is=preferably of reticulated metal and'may be either a perforated plate.

or wire screen, and maybe secured in place by clips 25 or in any other suitable manner.

. The, casing itself may have a handle 23 by so which-the entire device may becarried, the casing being detachablyfsecured to the base by clips or hooks 26.

As'previously statedmy improved device is adapted to utilize ordinary'city water as p 86 a cooling medium and as the device is port able, flexible; hose maybe connected to the apparatus one leading from an ordinary the same circuit so that by throwing one switch or pressing one button both the air L circulating and thewater circulating devices will start to operate. 7 i

In the accompanying drawings I have shown an electric fan for efiecting the de sired circulatienof the, air over the coils- It is of course evident that this fan may either blow the air through. the'casing from the fan over the coils or that it may suck air through the casing past the coils td the fan.

My improved] device does not necessitate the use of any special" form of fan, but it is so designed that the ordinary small electric fan commonly. used for air circulationin' rooms may be placed on the base within the casing of. the device, or may be. removed and used independently of the cooler at other times. For use in localities where an electriccurrerit is not available, but where a mufie the sound thereof and prevent any spigot to the inletofthe coil and the other 7 leading from the outlet of the coil to -the ac seweror other point of disposal of the 'waste water. Of course the wjater may beiconductedto a storage tank and used for other sired after leaving the apparatus. The

be' employe 1 the latter is to be used, as a-cooling' medium instead of city water. If desired I may employ the water from an ordinary well which .Bufwater is normally atva temperature some- 'what below that at which it is vdesired to maintainpthe temperature of the rooni. When'such wateris used it isnecessary to 7 provide some sort of water circulating to means which may if desired include a simple gear pump 32 operated from a small electric motor 33. It 'is only necessary to main-- tain a comparatively-slow circulation and therefore it is not necessary that a large or arrangement y'vouldiof coursev for artesian well water when Although my improved device is espe- 'cially designed for cooling purposes it is evident that the pipes maybe connected: to the water heating system of a furnace or kitchen range and the device used for warming a room at a distance from the source of heated medium and by the circulation of hot water through the coils of the apparatus. It is also evident that other cooling mediums than water may be employed if available. I may circulate brine,ammonia or any other cooling fluid-"orstea'm', or any heating fluid through the coils to effect the desired change j of the temperature of the air.-

purposes ormay be used in any manner de-' Having thus described my invention, What 3 I claim as new and desireto protect by Let 'ters-Patent, is:

p 1. An'air cooling device comprising a base, spaced standards thereon, a plurality of horizontally disposed concentric spaced helical pipe coils 'supportedby said stand ards' the turns" of pipe in each coil being comparatively close together to form longi- 1 high speed pumpbe provided. Due to they great difference. in thespecific. heat of air water a small quantity of water will serve for-the cooling of a very large volume of; air. Ifthe pum be operated by an electric motor-I may i desired wire the motor tudinal. passages between successive coils and means for forcing air through said passages. s

-2.;'A portahle device" for modifying the temperature of rooms comprising a plurality.v

of spaced concentrichelical coils extending substantially horizontal, a fan for efiecting the circulation of air between said coils,

spaced brackets at opposite endsof said 0011s and substantially following thebutlining of said coils and rods connecting said brackets for supporting said coils.

3. A portable device for modifying the temperature of rooms, comprising a p111;

' rality of spaced, concentric, helical pipe coils York and State of New York this 23rd day extending substantially horizontal, a fan for of April A. D1913.

eflecting the circulation of air between said coils, rods extending lengthwise of said GLEN O coils for supporting the latter, and support- Witnesses: a ing means for the ends of said rods. 0. W. FAIRBANK,

Signed at New York in the county of New FLORENCE LnvmN. 

